Google Will Bring Some Light to Google Fiber on Thursday

Last year, Google (News - Alert) made a very special choice with Kansas City. The city was to be the testing spot for their network that runs fiber-optic cables directly to homes, and will supposedly be able to deliver Internet speeds roughly 100 times faster than the national broadband average. The details since have been scarce, but that looks to change in the upcoming days.

Google posted on its blog last week that more information would be available on July 26. The post consisted of a short video displaying some historical figures of Kansas and saying that ‘Google Fiber is coming’. Although there is no telling whether the announcement actually means somebody in Kansas City will get light-speed Internet this time next week.

“We’re excited to announce more information on Google Fiber next week,” said Google spokeswoman Jenna Wandres. “We haven’t elaborated on what arriving means.”

Atlantic Engineering, Google’s contractor, has been busy digging trenches and stringing wires that will act as the system’s backbone, but nothing has been cited as far as connecting the network to households. Even if the network isn’t operational, the announcement could be information regarding pricing.

It also may announce Google providing a TV package with the Fiber network. Many households buy Internet through their cable companies, often bundling it with things like phone and TV. In order to attract those customers Google is going to need an overall package to lure them away from their current contracts.

But really we can only speculate as to what the announcement could be Thursday. It could be something as simple as a timeline for completion of the network, to pricing and bundling options, to Google Fiber going national. The one thing Google needs to avoid is overpricing it because no matter how much faster the average household can hypothetically download a song, they’ll pass if it is too expensive.

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